5 key plays from the Jaguars win

Five key plays from the Jaguars’ 10-3 win over Buffalo in the first round of the playoffs:

1. EARLY PRESSURE

Situation: Buffalo had third-and-7 from its 41-yard line on its opening drive.

The Jaguars only sacked elusive Buffalo quarterback Tyrod Taylor twice Sunday. The first came on this third-down play to end the Bills’ opening drive. Buffalo had one receiver split out right, two receivers and a tight end to the left and running back LeSean McCoy to the right of Taylor in the shotgun. The Jaguars blitzed Aaron Colvin from Taylor’s left, but defensive tackle Malik Jackson made the play. Lined up over center Eric Wood’s right shoulder, Jackson shot between Wood and the left guard, using a quick swim move to cause Wood to lose his balance. McCoy could have chipped Jackson to help his offensive line but instead attempted to block defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. Jackson hit Taylor in 2.22 seconds to end the drive.

2. COLVIN GETS INT

Situation: Early in the second quarter, Buffalo had first-and-10 from its 27.

Battling flu-like symptoms throughout the day, Colvin remained in the game long enough to record the first interception of his career. Buffalo lined up with one receiver right, two to the left, tight end Logan Thomas on the left side of the offensive line and McCoy again to the right of Taylor in the shotgun. At the snap, Thomas ran a simple 5-yard curl route over the middle of the field. Taylor targeted him and tried to squeeze in a pass in tight coverage, but linebacker Myles Jack made a terrific play and deflected the pass. Colvin also was only able to get a piece of the pass initially, but he slowed it enough to regain his balance and catch it with a diving effort. Asked after the game about finally getting an interception, Colvin said: “It’s been frustrating because I feel like I have good ball skills. I’ve made some crazy catches in practice, but in games I’ve just had to find a way to be in the right vicinity, and today that’s exactly what happened. For it to happen in the playoffs, it couldn’t happen at a better time.”

3. MISSED OPPORTUNITY

Situation: Still in a scoreless second quarter, Buffalo had first-and-10 from the Jaguars’ 23.

More was made about Buffalo’s decision to throw a pass on first-and-goal from the 1 later this drive, and it did backfire when receiver Kelvin Benjamin was flagged for offensive pass interference. But the Bills missed a big opportunity on this play. Buffalo lined up with tight ends on either side of the offensive line and one receiver split out on each side of the field with a running back in the backfield and Taylor under center. Under duress a good amount of the day, Taylor had a clean pocket and saw tight end Nick O’Leary running a seam route near the left hash. O’Leary had a step and inside position on free safety Tashaun Gipson near the goal line for what would have been a touchdown. However, Taylor’s pass sailed well over his head for an incompletion. A crucial miss in a tight game.

4. JAGS GET IN END ZONE

Situation: With the score knotted at 3 late in the third quarter, the Jaguars had fourth-and-goal from the Buffalo 1. The Jaguars passed on an opportunity to attempt a short field goal for a 6-3 lead and left their offense on the field. Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette was kept out of the end zone on two previous running plays, including a heck of an effort by Buffalo linebacker Lorenzo Alexander on the play before when Fournette attempted to jump over the offensive line for a touchdown. On fourth down, the Jaguars looked elsewhere. Lined up in a heavy package with an extra offensive lineman, a tight end on either side of the line and fullback Tommy Bohanon in front of Fournette in the backfield, the decision was a play-action fake. Quarterback Blake Bortles (who appeared to be stepped on by an offensive lineman) faked a hand-off to Fournette. While that happened, tight end Ben Koyack, lined up on the right side of the offensive line, got to the second level and acted like he was blocking linebacker Ramon Humber. After a quick beat, Koyack disengaged and ran toward to the goal post. Humber was a step late reacting, and Bortles threw a tight pass to Koyack for touchdown. Of the play, Koyack said: “It was a play we had practiced all week and a play we felt confident in. The look was right and that was just the play call.”

5. GAME-ENDING INT

Situation: Trailing 10-3 with less than a minute remaining, Buffalo had second-and-20 from the Jaguars’ 48.

Buffalo backup quarterback Nathan Peterman (replacing an injured Taylor) was flagged for intentional grounding on the previous play, which caused problems. In addition to a 10-second run-off because the Bills were out of timeouts, the clock, now at 34 seconds, was set to start when the officials deemed it playable. Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey explains the play well from there: “Two plays before that, with Peterman we played the same coverage,” Ramsey said. “We played off and he threw that quick hitch to A.J.’s side. They lined up in the same formation, just flipped on my side, so I figured they were running the same route. I took a read step and as soon as he threw it, I broke on it.” The pass was intended for receiver Deonte Thompson, but Ramsey knocked it in the air and caught it on a dive before it hit the ground. That ended Buffalo’s last-gasp chance and sent the Jaguars on to Pittsburgh.

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